The Houston Independent School District's new online application process also brought a few frustrations as acceptance emails and letters went out to parents Friday.

Wrong information

The district, for example, received a slew of phone calls when parents thought they missed the email because the system dispatched them at staggered times, said spokeswoman Sheleah Reed.

HISD also gave some parents wrong information about their children's spot on waiting lists. The wrong numbers did not factor in the district's policy that gives preferences to siblings, Reed said. Applicants were supposed to get the corrected information Monday.

Reed confirmed that district officials had to redo several of the schools' lotteries before the acceptance letters were sent because they omitted some data.

"People shouldn't be alarmed about the letter that they received. Everything was validated," Reed said.

HISD is different from many districts because of its large number of magnet programs, which have themes like math and science or serve gifted students. Students from across the district can apply, and lotteries take place for schools with more applications than spots. Some schools have admissions criteria.

Other confusion arose when parents feared their children were rejected from their neighborhood school. For example, Reed said, some students zoned to Johnston Middle School may have received rejection notices for the arts magnet program there, even though they still are allowed to attend the school because it's their zoned campus.

Applications skyrocket

Well-known programs in more affluent neighborhoods like River Oaks Elementary fill up quickly.

Two of the district's Spanish dual-language schools, Helms Elementary and Wharton (a combined elementary and middle school) also had spots available in certain grade levels. HISD is starting dual-language program at 14 more elementary campuses in the upcoming school year. Fall enrollment numbers should show if the district can sustain 28 programs.

Reed cautioned that the list of available seats changes as students notify the district where they plan to attend. They have until April 11 to do so.

So far, Reed said, HISD has received more than 53,800 applications for magnet schools from more than 20,000 students this year.

The number is up from more than 32,600 last year.

"This is the first year of this online process," Reed said. "We're happy where we are. But we're always monitoring for a way to get it better."